PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA
Today began very early (4 am) with another early-morning trip to Bangkok International Airport, another cheapie Air Asia flight, and another country added to the roster! Our flight this morning to Cambodia's capital only took about an hour, and on arrival, Chris and I were immediately herded onto the back of two motorcycle taxis (motos) for our ride into town.
I have to say, seeing Phnom Pehn from the back of a motorbike was certainly an entertaining experience, if at times a little hair-raising! At first I was excited to see that they actually drive on the right-hand side here, but I soon realized that this is more of a suggestion than an actual rule--in practice it's anything goes, with hundreds of people on motorcycles, bicycles, tuk-tuks, cars, and trucks darting every which way, regardless of supposed rights-of-way and indeed, traffic signals! Fun stuff.
Adding to the fun was the fact that during the entire ride our moto drivers were constantly trying to take us somewhere we didn't want to go! I had already told my driver to take us to Boeng Kak, a lakefront area featuring a number of budget guesthouses built on stilts over the lake, but he repeatedly tried to talk me out of it, saying that 1) it's much nicer elsewhere, 2) the lake is flooding, and 3) the area is swarming with mosquitoes. None of which are true, by the way--he was just trying to get us to stay somewhere that offered him a commission! Sheesh. Anyway, in the end we stood firm and made it to our lakeside guesthouse by noon.
After lunch, Chris decided to stay in and rest, while I opted to take another moto across town to visit the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum--sounds cheery, I know, but given the bloody nature of Cambodia's recent history, I thought I should pay a visit. The location is actually an old high school that was used by Pol Pot's regime as a Khmer Rouge interrogation and torture facility. Almost all of the thousands of suspected "traitors to the revolution" that passed through Tuol Sleng--men, women, and children--were then sent to the nearby "killing fields" for extermination (if they hadn't already died at Tuol Sleng).
It was really chilling to walk through classrooms that had been converted into torture chambers. Many were now empty except for the rusty iron beds that the prisoners were strapped to, and the shackles that restrained them. On the walls were photographs of the rooms as they were found by the Vietnamese when they liberated Tuol Sleng, with horrifically tortured corpses splayed out across the beds--the victims that were found dead in these rooms are now buried in the courtyard. Other rooms of the museum displayed some of the thousands of photographs of prisoners taken during their processing, and written accounts of people who had lost loved ones at Tuol Sleng.
After that sobering experience, I could really use a bit of a cheering-up. Luckily, Chris and I had eaten lunch at The Lazy Gecko, a local English restaurant run by Australians that's apparently also very community-service-oriented. Every Saturday night they provide free transportation to a local orphanage, where the kids perform traditional Khmer dances and serve dinner to visitors (who presumably donate some money in return). It sounded like just the ticket, so we piled in the van and headed there, along with an Australian guy named "Skinny" who's been living here for a few months.
As Chris has detailed in his journal, the kids at the orphanage were great--very happy, polite, fun, and friendly, and most of them spoke English really well, too. (Just like in Annie!) The traditional music and dance performances were really quite impressive, the food wasn't bad, and the "after party" hip-hop dancing with the kids was a lot of fun, too. I will say that I'm not sure how appropriate "My Humps" by the Black Eyed Peas is for ten-year-olds, but what the heck. Hangin' with the orphans--now that's a Saturday night!
Oh, and after we got back to the guesthouse, Chris bought a pirated DVD of Poseidon (only $3!), which we watched on his laptop. Mmm, cheesy!
Today began very early (4 am) with another early-morning trip to Bangkok International Airport, another cheapie Air Asia flight, and another country added to the roster! Our flight this morning to Cambodia's capital only took about an hour, and on arrival, Chris and I were immediately herded onto the back of two motorcycle taxis (motos) for our ride into town.
I have to say, seeing Phnom Pehn from the back of a motorbike was certainly an entertaining experience, if at times a little hair-raising! At first I was excited to see that they actually drive on the right-hand side here, but I soon realized that this is more of a suggestion than an actual rule--in practice it's anything goes, with hundreds of people on motorcycles, bicycles, tuk-tuks, cars, and trucks darting every which way, regardless of supposed rights-of-way and indeed, traffic signals! Fun stuff.
Adding to the fun was the fact that during the entire ride our moto drivers were constantly trying to take us somewhere we didn't want to go! I had already told my driver to take us to Boeng Kak, a lakefront area featuring a number of budget guesthouses built on stilts over the lake, but he repeatedly tried to talk me out of it, saying that 1) it's much nicer elsewhere, 2) the lake is flooding, and 3) the area is swarming with mosquitoes. None of which are true, by the way--he was just trying to get us to stay somewhere that offered him a commission! Sheesh. Anyway, in the end we stood firm and made it to our lakeside guesthouse by noon.
After lunch, Chris decided to stay in and rest, while I opted to take another moto across town to visit the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum--sounds cheery, I know, but given the bloody nature of Cambodia's recent history, I thought I should pay a visit. The location is actually an old high school that was used by Pol Pot's regime as a Khmer Rouge interrogation and torture facility. Almost all of the thousands of suspected "traitors to the revolution" that passed through Tuol Sleng--men, women, and children--were then sent to the nearby "killing fields" for extermination (if they hadn't already died at Tuol Sleng).
It was really chilling to walk through classrooms that had been converted into torture chambers. Many were now empty except for the rusty iron beds that the prisoners were strapped to, and the shackles that restrained them. On the walls were photographs of the rooms as they were found by the Vietnamese when they liberated Tuol Sleng, with horrifically tortured corpses splayed out across the beds--the victims that were found dead in these rooms are now buried in the courtyard. Other rooms of the museum displayed some of the thousands of photographs of prisoners taken during their processing, and written accounts of people who had lost loved ones at Tuol Sleng.
After that sobering experience, I could really use a bit of a cheering-up. Luckily, Chris and I had eaten lunch at The Lazy Gecko, a local English restaurant run by Australians that's apparently also very community-service-oriented. Every Saturday night they provide free transportation to a local orphanage, where the kids perform traditional Khmer dances and serve dinner to visitors (who presumably donate some money in return). It sounded like just the ticket, so we piled in the van and headed there, along with an Australian guy named "Skinny" who's been living here for a few months.
As Chris has detailed in his journal, the kids at the orphanage were great--very happy, polite, fun, and friendly, and most of them spoke English really well, too. (Just like in Annie!) The traditional music and dance performances were really quite impressive, the food wasn't bad, and the "after party" hip-hop dancing with the kids was a lot of fun, too. I will say that I'm not sure how appropriate "My Humps" by the Black Eyed Peas is for ten-year-olds, but what the heck. Hangin' with the orphans--now that's a Saturday night!
Oh, and after we got back to the guesthouse, Chris bought a pirated DVD of Poseidon (only $3!), which we watched on his laptop. Mmm, cheesy!
posted by John Kuge at 11:02 PM
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